Legends of Atlantis: Exodus Review

Legends of Atlantis: Exodus is a charming resource management game based loosely on the legend of the lost city of Atlantis. The game features your standard resource management gameplay with a quirky sense of humor and laugh out loud moments that help make this game a must-try for any fan of the genre.

by Tracy Jerry on
05-22-2012

Legends of Atlantis: Exodus is a charming resource management game based loosely on the legend of the lost city of Atlantis. The game features your standard resource management gameplay with a quirky sense of humor and laugh out loud moments that help make this game a must-try for any fan of the genre.

I've always been a bit of a nerd when it came to the legend of Atlantis. Both my husband and I are obsessed with it. We'll sit there for hours watching those shows on the Discovery Channel about all the places the city could be or if Plato was even referencing a real city or not. The Disney movie was, and still is, one of our favorites, even though it didn't get much of a following. And when Google Earth thought they found the city on its satellite images, we were so excited!

So, it comes as no surprise that I wanted... no NEEDED to give the Legends of Atlantis: Exodus a try. I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with resource management games. I love them at first, but then I can't stop playing them because I just HAVE to finish the next level. Actually... come to think about it... I'm like that with all the games I play. Ok, I might have a problem…

Legends of Atlantis: Exodus takes place in the last few days of this failing city. Much like the legend, floods and earthquakes have plagued Atlantis, washing out bridges and roads and stranding villagers in their homes. It's up to our strong stalwart worker, who looks very much like a young Hercules, to save the day.

Now, the Queen of Atlantis has a plan to save her people, or so she says, from this catastrophe, and she will give you orders throughout the levels of the game that make no sense to your survival, but you trust in her better judgment even if saving flowers or building temples seem counterproductive at the time.

Besides her crazy orders, the only other help she gives you is the use of her wise old sage who rides around on a scooter, which is a bit weird considering we’re talking about a time 900 years or so before Plato, and I’m pretty sure they didn’t have scooters back then… but he’s not much help to you anyhow even with his advanced technology. He basically just scoots around and tells you what to do.

The gameplay of Legends of Atlantis: Exodus was pretty standard. If you’ve ever played a resource management game, you’ll have no trouble jumping right in and skipping the tutorials. You collect wood, energy crystals, water, and ore to accomplish the various tasks for each level.

There are two types of play modes. There’s the relaxed mode where there’s no timer, so you can chill with a glass of wine and not worry about beating a score or getting everything done as fast as you can, which is nice for those nights where you just don’t want to stress. Of course, if you’re feeling in a more competitive mood, you can try the Challenge Mode, which has a clock you have to beat to get the various different levels of accomplishment. I’m so bad with this mode, as I can’t accept anything less than expert level, so I’ll play it over and over again until I get the darn thing.

The graphics are fine; nothing special. They’re pretty much what you would expect from a resource management game. The same goes for the music and sound effects. Unless you really like the sound of chopping wood and the saw mill going, I would suggest just putting on your favorite playlist from your personal music selection and turning the sound off.

The one fun unique factor of this game was actually the commentary. It was pretty funny. There were moments when you told your wise old sage to get off his scooter and help you. Or that the queen’s brain was waterlogged if she expected you to build a temple in the middle of a monsoon. Maybe it’s the writer in me, but I always appreciate a game that can make fun of itself. Life’s too serious sometimes, and it’s fun to play a game that’s lighthearted and silly every now and then.

Overall, while the unique factor in Legends of Atlantis: Exodus wasn’t there, it was a really fun game that I enjoyed playing, and if you’re a fan of resource management games, I think you’ll get a kick out of this one.